The present invention relates to a machine and method for making liquid or semi-liquid food products, in particular for ice cream or soft ice cream type products.
In the technical sector of the ice cream trade in question, there are (soft) ice cream machines which comprise a mixing and cooling cylinder, to which is associated a refrigerating unit and a mixer is also provided.
The mixing and cooling cylinder enables the finished product (ice cream or soft ice cream) to be made starting from a basic mixture fed through a further container.
The basic mixture is fed to the mixing and cooling cylinder through containers, that is to say, so-called “Bag in Box” flexible feeding containers, which basically comprise a flexible wall equipped with an opening (perforatable) for the outflow of the product.
These flexible type feeding containers are configured to deform during extraction of the product; in other words, their volume depends on the quantity of product inside them.
The operators often complain of problems in controlling the using up of the basic mixture during the hours when the machine is most in use, when the number of customers to be served is particularly high and the technical personnel are busy serving.
The using up of the basic mixture in the container causes a stoppage of the machine, which lasts until the empty container for feeding the basic mixture is replaced with a new container, full of mixture.
For this reason, there is a strongly felt need in the relevant field for monitoring the operating status of the machine so as to correctly plan the replacement of the containers, thereby avoiding extended machine stoppages.
Still more in detail, a strongly felt need in the sector in question is that of allowing a fast replacement, by the operator, of the feed container when it is empty.